Manage MSFS 2020 data settings, bandwidth limits, photogrammetry and rolling or manual cache, with fixes for blurry scenery and stutters.
To manage data and cache in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, open Options > General Options > Data from the main menu. Use Online Functionality as the master switch, choose the streamed scenery services you need, set any bandwidth or usage limit, then enable, size, clear or relocate Rolling Cache.
What does the MSFS 2020 Data page control?
The Data page controls online world streaming and local scenery caches; it does not manage installed aircraft, Marketplace packages or Community add-ons. Menu wording can vary slightly after simulator updates, but the main controls serve the following purposes.
| Setting | What it controls | When to enable it |
|---|---|---|
| Online Functionality | The master switch for streamed and other internet-dependent services. | Keep it on for the full online world. Disabling it can grey out related options. |
| Bing Data World Graphics | Streams aerial imagery and world data instead of relying solely on installed generic scenery. | Enable it for the recognisable streamed world; disable it for offline operation or diagnosis. |
| Photogrammetry | Adds streamed three-dimensional city and landmark data where available. | Enable it with a stable connection. Turn it off temporarily if cities appear melted, blocky or slow to resolve. |
| Data Limitation and Bandwidth | Restricts total data use or download rate. | Use a cap on a metered connection. Leave bandwidth unrestricted unless MSFS is consuming too much of a shared connection. |
| Rolling Cache | Retains recently streamed scenery in a fixed-size local file and overwrites the oldest content. | Useful when revisiting the same regions or when the connection is inconsistent. |
| Manual Cache | Keeps selected scenery regions until you remove them. | Use it for a regular airport, city or route where the option is available. |
For a fuller explanation of caps, online services and bandwidth consumption, see our guide to MSFS 2020 internet requirements and data usage.
Which MSFS 2020 data settings should I use?
Most users with an unmetered, reliable connection should enable Online Functionality and Bing Data World Graphics, leave the bandwidth unrestricted, and choose Photogrammetry according to connection quality and visual preference.
- Open the Data page: make changes from the main menu rather than while flying, because scenery already loaded into a flight may not refresh immediately.
- Enable Online Functionality: this must be on before dependent streaming features can work.
- Select the scenery services: enable Bing Data World Graphics, then test Photogrammetry separately so you can identify which service causes a problem.
- Check the usage controls: disable the data cap on an unmetered connection, or set one that matches your allowance. Reaching the configured limit can stop online scenery from loading.
- Set the bandwidth control: an unnecessarily low value produces slowly resolving or blurry ground textures even when the connection itself is fast.
- Apply the changes: return to the main menu or reload the flight if the existing scenery does not update.
Should Rolling Cache be on or off?
Enable Rolling Cache when you repeatedly fly over the same airports and routes; disable it when you have fast, stable internet, mostly visit new areas, lack disk space or suspect the cache drive is causing pauses.
There is no universal best cache size. Choose enough capacity for the regions you revisit while leaving comfortable free space on the drive. A mistake we see constantly is creating an enormous cache: it reserves disk space but does not increase scenery resolution or guarantee smoother performance.
On PC, a local SSD is generally the sensible location. Avoid a slow removable drive, a nearly full disk or a cloud-synchronised folder. Xbox storage and location controls are more limited, so some PC-specific path options may not appear. Our rolling-cache decision guide covers the connection and flying patterns that favour each choice.
Manual Cache for fixed flying areas
Where Manual Cache is offered, use it to pin selected world-scenery tiles rather than allowing them to be overwritten. Select a regular flying area, assign higher detail only where it matters, and recreate the region if its cached scenery becomes outdated or damaged.
Neither cache stores every online service. Live weather, traffic and multiplayer still require a connection, and cached scenery is not a backup of installed add-ons.
How do I clear, resize or move the cache?
Manage Rolling Cache through the simulator’s Data page rather than deleting files or package folders manually.
- Return to the main menu and open Options > General Options > Data.
- Delete the existing Rolling Cache with the control provided in that menu, particularly before moving it to another drive.
- Choose the new limit and location: on PC, select a local folder with sufficient free space. Console editions may manage the location automatically.
- Re-enable Rolling Cache if required, apply the settings and allow the simulator time to create the replacement file.
Do not erase the Community or Official package folders to clear streamed scenery. On Xbox, deleting the simulator’s reserved storage can also remove installed content and is not equivalent to the Rolling Cache delete command. See our step-by-step cache clearing, resizing and relocation instructions for the full procedure.
Why is scenery still blurry or stuttering?
Blurry scenery is usually caused by disabled streaming, a reached data limit, restricted bandwidth or a struggling connection; clearing the cache should not be the first response.
- Confirm the master settings: Online Functionality and Bing Data World Graphics must both be enabled for streamed ground imagery.
- Inspect the limits: check whether the data allowance has been reached or the bandwidth setting is throttling downloads.
- Test Photogrammetry: turn it off and reload the area. Clean autogen replacing malformed city geometry points towards a photogrammetry streaming problem.
- Clear the cache once: do this when the same location remains corrupted across separate flights, not routinely before every session.
- Test without Rolling Cache: if pauses coincide with scenery loading, disable it temporarily and repeat the same route. A slow or busy cache drive can produce stutters instead of preventing them.
A cache cannot repair an online-service interruption, overloaded network, graphics bottleneck or faulty add-on. If frame-time spikes remain after the cache test, work through our MSFS stutter and micro-pause diagnostic checklist rather than repeatedly deleting scenery data.